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Services

Liver Services

King’s Liver Service has transformed the lives of thousands of men, women and children from all over the world, via both full and partial liver transplantations. The Liver service at King’s started in 1840 and has been at the forefront of liver research, innovation and the implementation of new patient treatments for over 175 years, for example in 2013 King’s undertook the world’s first “warm liver” transplant using an organ that was “kept alive” at body temperature.

Meet the Team

Liver transplant for children & adults

King’s College Hospital has performed more adult and paediatric liver transplants than any other centre in the United Kingdom. In 2014 the Transplant Team performed 228 transplants, the most in the history of the hospital.

In recent years, the team has carried out an average of 242 transplants annually.

Transplants performed in 2014

Liver transplant in UK 1994-2012

Taken from statistics as published by the Royal College of Surgeons, Clinical Effectiveness Unit, November 2012 in the UK Liver Transplant Audit.

A pioneer in liver transplantation since 1966, the Liver Transplant Centre uses state of the art technology and leading medical and surgical interventions to provide individualised, on-going care for adult and paediatric patients with liver disease. Our Liver Transplant Programme provides complete treatment, transplant and management options for patients with acute or chronic liver disease as well as patients with liver cancer.

Our patients receive integrated, comprehensive care beginning with a careful assessment and evaluation of ensure that transplantation is the patient’s best treatment option.

For international patients, King’s offers a “living donor” liver transplantation programme and the donors and recipients are carefully assessed to ensure the best outcomes for both the patient and the donor.

Liver Intensive Therapy Unit (LITU)`

The Liver Intensive Therapy service is an integral part of the largest comprehensive liver programme in the world. It provides integrated investigation and treatment for all types of acute and chronic liver diseases as well as research into pathogenesis and future patient management.

The Unit is a unique specialist facility with a worldwide reputation, staffed by a specialist team of intensive care doctors, it has been setting international standards for patient care for more than two decades and is a leading centre for the development and use of advanced and innovative therapies. The Unit has a particular pedigree in the management of acute and chronic liver disease, and treats more patients with acute liver failure than any other similar centre in the world, and supports Europe’s largest liver transplantation programme.

The LITU has 15 beds for the care of critically ill liver patients and offers single-sex accommodation, bathroom and toilet facilities.

 

Hepatitis

The King’s viral hepatitis service is one of the largest specialist treatment centres for the condition in the UK. We offer high-quality, state-of-art treatment for viral hepatitis B and C patients as well as those also infected (co-infected) with hepatitis D (HDV) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

King’s is involved in several on-going studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of various antiviral treatment regimens for chronic hepatitis B and C and have already introduced new drug treatments.

Hepatobiliary surgery

We provide all-round care for people with liver, biliary and gall bladder disorders. Our team offers specialist investigations and care for conditions such as:

  • primary liver cancer: hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
  • benign liver tumours: focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), adenoma, haemangioma
  • biliary cystadenoma
  • primary biliary cancers: cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer
  • secondary liver tumours from a colorectal, breast or other primary

Treatments include:

  • liver and biliary resection
  • percutaneous radio-frequency ablation of primary and secondary liver tumours
  • percutaneous chemo-embolisation for primary liver tumours
  • percutaneous bland embolisation for liver tumours
  • endoscopic radio-frequency ablation for biliary tumours
  • Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) for primary or secondary liver tumours
  • sorafenib for primary liver cancer – hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
  • specialist endoscopy.
  • We can offer Nano-Knife treatment for some Hepato Billiary Cancers where deemed appropriate